Sixpoint Introduces Apollo Summer Ale

Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn-based Sixpoint brewery has launched the summer installment of its seasonal beer program. Available in cans, the Apollo is inspired by Bavarian-style wheat ales, but with a Sixpoint twist. Its clear, sunny color and summery character signal its namesake — the sun god Apollo. Apollo will be available in 16-ounce cans for a limited time in all markets where Sixpoint is distributed.

Unlike the previous Apollo wheat ale that Sixpoint produced on draft several years ago, the current reincarnation is deeply rooted in Bavarian tradition. Sixpoint Founder and President Shane Welch worked intensely with Sixpoint’s German-born Braumeister Jan Matysiak to pierce the essence of their favorite weizens. The two traveled throughout Bavaria, consulting with breweries and tasting many different wheat ales to inspire their vision of Sixpoint’s recreation. Their travels have been documented in a narrative video to accompany the launch of Apollo, which can be viewed on Sixpoint’s website.

Apollo shares many characteristics with a Kristallweizen, a rarer version of the traditional German wheat ale. Its defining characteristics are a clear, bronze-hued light amber color, frothy head, and elegant notes of banana, clove and vanilla. It’s brewed with a 50/50 blend of wheat malt and barley malt in true weizen fashion, and is lightly hopped with German hops. The ale has a 5.2% ABV, making it a refreshing choice for sipping all throughout a summer day, and a low 11 IBU (International Bittering Units).

“Creating this wheat ale was definitely a challenge and took quite some time and preparation,” said Matysiak, “but our efforts paid off and the Apollo turned out fantastic. It’s a great summer beer and I look forward to sharing it with Sixpoint fans and connoisseurs.”

Welch was equally enthusiastic about the launch: “The first time I met Jan, he was brewing world-class beers at a small American craft brewery. After tasting his entire lineup of beers, the one that made the most lasting impression his hefeweizen. Since that day, I have been yearning for one as good as the one I sampled out of that garage.” Welch added, “After going back to Jan’s alma mater at Weihenstephan Institute, I can understand why he was finally able to satisfy this yearning with the Apollo. It’s over 1000 years of culture combined with Sixpoint’s creative craftsmanship — in a can!”

Sixpoint was born out of an 800-square-foot garage in Brooklyn, New York City, in 2004 by brewer Shane Welch, who had amassed over 1,000 individual homebrew recipes. The brewery’s name is derived from the ancient six-pointed brewers’ star, which had symbolically adorned the walls and equipment of ancient breweries since at least the Medieval period. Sixpoint’s motto is “Beer is Culture,” to highlight the human trajectory — the earliest human civilizations were founded upon the cultivation of cereal grains for making beer. Sixpoint aims to perpetually inspire the art, creativity and community generated through beer by acknowledging the history of the craft, while forging ahead to inspire culture in a modern setting.